University of Massachusetts guard Derrick Gordon, 22, enters a hallway before facing reporters on the school’s campus Wednesday in Amherst, Mass. Gordon has become the first openly gay player in Division I men’s basketball.

It’s happening. Quietly. Honorably. Sports are changing — right now, today — and the best part about it is, well, it seems seamless.

On Wednesday, another sports figure revealed he was gay, this time a college basketball player. It made headlines, because this news is news — he’s the first openly gay guy who will compete in college hoops. But there wasn’t this international hullabaloo. Shoot, you probably don’t even remember the dude’s name (UMass guard Derrick Gordon). Instead, it was just more of an “oh, that’s cool” moment.

It’s wild because we’ll look back at 2014 as the seminal, seismic-shift year, when the sports landscape changed forever. My guess is that Jason Collins, Michael Sam, Gordon, Brittney Griner and others will be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportspeople of the Year. But we’re in it right now, and what’s special about it is the change is organic. Sure, there have been plenty of outspoken homophobes, but the strongest statements are the most dignified — the Missouri students peacefully blockading the church protesting Sam, the support in the media and even the encouraging tweets from strangers to @DerrickGordon02, who announced Wednesday: “I am the first Division 1 male basketball player to come out and not the last. I AM gay. I’m not afraid. I’m not alone.”

That’s what’s so powerful and touching about Collins and Sam. They were alone. I mean, clearly they had support from many, but they were pioneers. And what a beautiful thing it is that the Gordons of the world were inspired by them.

Gordon’s story will make news. Some say it’s not news. But because it is news, word will spread. I bet — no, I’m sure — some athlete will feel more comfortable to come out because of Gordon’s courage. And yeah, it might be a no-name athlete from a no-name school. But for that human being, this is his or her life. And now, because of encouragement and courage of others, they’ll get to embrace their true selves. We need these guys like Gordon to be in the news, so one day, it’s not news; it’s the new normal.

Of course, I wonder what the effects would be if Gordon was a player you actually knew. He plays for UMass. What if it was Jabari Parker coming out last November? Or our state’s Spencer Dinwiddie? Is part of America’s indifferent response because this guy is more or less a stranger?

I’ve always contended that the gay movement will be strongest when an undeniable, adored superstar comes out of the closet. Talk about moving the meter. But in the meantime, these trailblazers are opening doors for, say, a Portland Trail Blazer. Each story is heartwarming and disarming. Gay is a thing, and now it’s a thing in sports … and really, it does not seem to be that big of a deal, even though we’ll look back and wonder at how it was such a big deal.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

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